currently working on a new project, and it reminded me why the strategy phase is probably my favorite part of the whole process. whether it’s for a website or a full brand identity, i love going beyond the brief and trying to understand the business as deeply as possible. the client call, the brief, the old website… those are just the starting point. then comes the fun part: researching, asking questions, digging deeper, understanding how the business works, who they sell to, what they stand for, how they communicate, and why people should choose them. sometimes, you even discover things the client knows internally but hasn’t fully articulated yet, or things they’re simply not communicating clearly enough. that’s what i love about strategy: taking all that information, finding the patterns, and bringing clarity and structure to everything. honestly, this might be my favorite part of the whole process.

How do you usually hand that research back to a client, a straight brief or something more visual like a strategy deck? And do they ever push back when you point out something about their own business they hadn't fully articulated?